Teaching Resource

Much of what is known about early Wampanoag history comes from archaeological evidence, the Wampanoag oral tradition (much of which has been lost), and documents created by seventeenth-century English colonists.

The Wampanoag people have lived in southeastern New England for thousands of years. In 1600 there were as many as 12,000 Wampanoag who lived in forty villages. Both oral tradition and archaeological evidence suggests that Native peoples lived in the area for 10,000 years. Wampanoag...

Teaching Resource

The inauguration of a new service, the Pony Express, on April 3, 1860, promised the fastest communication ever from the Missouri River to California. How long did a Pony Express message take to go from its starting point in St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California? How many years was the Pony Express in existence? How many riders were employed? What hardships did the riders experience? Finding the answers to these questions and many more like them captivates youngsters, encouraging them to read...

Teaching Resource

The term "teddy bear," used to describe a stuffed toy bear, originated in 1902 during the Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. By examining the political cartoons of Clifford K. Berryman, students will learn that the teddy bear is a relatively new concept that derived from Theodore Roosevelt's fascination with the outdoors and Berryman's chronicling of one particular hunting adventure.

Background

Theodore Roosevelt was the nation's twenty-sixth president. He served from 1900 to 1909. ...

Teaching Resource

Utilizing video and photos, elementary school students will synthesize some Dust Bowl experiences by creating a children's book in this multi-day activity.

Background

Beginning in the 1930s, drought wracked Oklahoma, Arkansas, and other areas of the Great Plains. Farmers watched in despair as their crops died and their children grew hungry. The experiences of these farmers have been publicized in many ways, most notably in the stunning photography of Dorothea Lange. Lange began working for...

Teaching Resource

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are both written in the voices of children. While each book gives and unabashed commentary of the social mores of the time and place where it is set, students can also learn about attitudes toward education during these periods. Examining primary documents will also show was schools of the times offered their students.

Background

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain...

Teaching Resource

In the early 1960s, Mississippi was the poorest state in the nation, with most non-white families living well below the poverty line. Although African Americans made up nearly half of the state's population, few were registered to vote, and there were no African American representatives in the Democratic Party. In 1964, a presidential election year, civil rights organizations decided to focus on four goals in Mississippi: registering African Americans to vote; using the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party to challenge...

Teaching Resource

While American soldiers were fighting abroad, those left at home, including children, contributed to the war effort in many ways.

Background

Although World War II wasn’t fought on US soil, its effects were deeply felt by all Americans. With a majority of the male population overseas, remaining citizens dedicated themselves to the task of keeping the country running efficiently while supporting the soldiers. Women, previously discouraged from working in industry, became the work force out of necessity.

...

Teaching Resource

Many elementary school students are unaware of how banks make money and what causes them to fail. This lesson will provide students with a basic understanding of those two issues, linking them to the Great Depression and Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Banking Holiday in 1933.

Essential Question
How do banks make money?
What causes banks to fail?
How did Franklin Delano Roosevelt try to stem the failure of banks in 1933?

Background...

Teaching Resource

Today’s students have an acute sense of fairness, and they dislike inequality in their lives. As they learn about our country’s history, they want to know why people have been treated unfairly. Why was slavery allowed? Why were Native Americans forced off their land? Why couldn’t women vote? The answers to the first two questions are rooted in economic and political forces of institutionalized racism and greed. This lesson focuses on answering the third question and addressing institutionalized gender discrimination....

Teaching Resource

Present the following scenario to your students. You can either read it to them or enlist students to act it out. The scenario is about two children who lived in 1734 and were the age of your students.

“Anna Elizabeth and her brother Samuel live in a small house with a thatched roof. Their father built the house himself. Both children help their parents by completing many chores each day.

Anna Elizabeth is learning how to run a home. She feeds the chickens and gathers eggs each morning. Her mother is...